The present invention relates to board games, and more particularly pertains to a board game which expands one's vocabulary and increases one's knowledge and wisdom of the world by choosing the correct analogy to words denoting people, events, places, things, and concepts.
Despite the advent of the home computer and electronic games, of which Nintendo is the current favorite, board games retain their appeal and show no signs of falling into obsolescence as have other forms of once popular entertainment, such as the drive-in movie theater. Board games pleasurably combine qualities of life in general--calculated risk taking, weighing and evaluating the odds that an outcome will or will not transpire, formulating strategies to meet a variety of future occurrences, and the indeterminancy involved with a lucky roll of the dice--in the miniaturized setting of the board game. Depending on the board game chosen, the players can target and sink an opponent's battleship, amass and manipulate real estate holdings, as in the classic Monopoly board game (U.S. Pat. No. 2,026,082), traverse medieval landscapes evading the dangers and mysteries lurking therein, or answer questions, both trivial and profound, drawn from every aspect of human experience and knowledge, as in the game Trivial Pursuit. Indeed, the number and type of board games is limited only by the scope of human ingenuity.
The prior art reveals a number of board games having varying objectives, modes of play and goals. U.S. Pat. No. 4,065,131 (Martin, Jr. et al.) discloses a board game in which players traverse a game board, each traverse around the board corresponding to one college semester, with the goal being to graduate with the highest GPA (grade point average).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,337 (Carrera et al.) discloses a board game in which players traverse the board, randomly landing on spaces and answering questions contained in the separate card decks, representing three levels of questions, relating to the area of human sexuality.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,485 (Lardon) discloses a board game wherein players traverse a game track color coded to match three marked and correspondingly colored cards. After accumulating 1,500 points, the player advances to an end-of-game compartment centrally located on the game board.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,513 (Montijo) discloses a game board wherein players attempt to successfully complete a variety of challenges, such as spelling, pronouncing, and defining words correctly, remembering number sequences, and answering question cards. Players move around the board to a winner's circle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,254 (Calloway) discloses an educational-type game having two sets of questions and answer cards that represent lessons and tests for the players. Players advance their playing pieces on the inner playing spaces by correctly answering test questions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,255 (Henry et al.) discloses a question and answer board game relating to the field of criminal justice. Players move around the board on either of two playing tracks by answering questions arranged in three levels of difficulty.
Despite the ingenuity and the pleasurable effects derived from playing the above-mentioned board games, there remains a need for a board game which develops and expands one's vocabulary, increases one's knowledge of the world, and challenges the application of that knowledge and wisdom in a friendly and enjoyable manner.